Preparation and characterization of composited polymer electrolytes for aluminum-air battery / Norkhairul Mohamed Ariffin

Composite gel polymer electrolyte consist of cellulose acetate (CA), aluminum per chlorate (AI3CIO4), dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent and silicon oxide (SiC^) filler have been prepared. Liquid electrolyte composing of different molarities AI3CIO4 in DMF solvent have initially been prepared. The highest conductivity obtained for this system is 6.11x10" Scm" when the selected 0.9M liquid electrolyte is introduced. Upon the addition of 5wt% of CA as polymeric gelling agent into the selected 0.7M liquid electrolyte, the conductivity is enhanced by ~ 21% to the maximum of4.85xl0"3Scm"1. SiCh is added into the highest conductivity gel polymer electrolyte system in order to increase the mechanical properties. The highest conductivity obtained for the composited polymer electrolyte is 6.12xl0"3 Scm"1 when 3wt% Si02 is added. The highest conducting composited polymer electrolyte sample is then chosen as an electrolyte in fabrication of aluminum air cells. The cells have been characterized according to their open circuit voltage (OCV). It has been found that the initial OCV at 1.65 V is obtained and constant at ~1.3 V for more than 24 hours.